Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 edition. Excerpt: ... C. E., "The earliest dredge of this type used in the United States was, it is believed, the Gen. Moultrie, used in 1855, at Charleston, S. C.... This dredge is stated to have been a moderate sized commercial steamboat, converted into a dredge by the addition of centrifugal dredging pumps with necessary piping, etc., and with bins constructed in the hold. Her drags, or suction heads, were probably somewhat similar to those now in use.... From 25 cents to $1.00 per cu. yd. for material dredged, according to locality and amount of work, was still (previous to 1890) considered a fair price for dredging on ocean bars; and on account of the great cost of dredging, the plan of deepening these bars by scour produced by jetties was regarded as the only practicable one." However, after the conclusion, in 1891, of six years of dredging, by contract, to deepen the entrance channel to New York Harbor, "the cost of maintaining the dredged channel to full width and depth has been found to be very moderate." The first suction hopper dredge built by the Government was the Charleston, in 1890, having one 15 inch pump and a bin capacity of 340 cu. yds. Between 1890 and 1900, three more were built, the performance of which effected such a reduction in the cost of dredging ocean bars as to question the economy of constructing the costly jetty for the purpose of deepening these channels. Since 1900, the Government has built a goodly fleet of these machines, probably the most intensive construction period being from 1901 to 1904, during which the total number constructed and under construction was 14. Two such dredges, the Caribbean and Culebra, built in 1907 by the Maryland Steel Company, of Baltimore, Md., were used in the construction of...
